Monday is Memorial Day, a day when we honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect our nation. Until only a few years ago Cornell's was closed on the Memorial Day holiday, both to pay tribute to our departed heroes as well as to provide a day for our staff members to spend with family and friends.

Unfortunately, the retail environment is far different from when many of us were growing up. Stores are now open on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in the quest for more and more business (We are not open on any of those days). At the same time, all of us are working more hours each week and finding our leisure time shrinking.

We at Cornell's resisted opening on Memorial Day, and as some of you know we weren't even open on Sundays until about five years ago. We received many, many requests from our customers to open on Sundays, and so we added Sunday to our schedule. We also received requests from customers to open on Memorial Day as for many that was a day for them to accomplish home repair tasks, or work on their gardens, but initially we just added Sunday hours.

Three years ago we made the decision to open for Memorial Day with limited hours (10am to 4pm). While we are here for any of your shopping needs, we encourage you to remember the reason for the holiday. The Eastchester Memorial Day parade is being held Monday at 10am, starting at the Eastchester Town Hall on Mill Road and continuing north on Route 22 (White Plains Road) to Memorial Park. Please attend the parade with your family and honor our veterans. Make sure your children know the reason for the holiday, and while you are cooking on the BBQ or sitting on the back deck take a few moments to remember the sacrifices made by our fellow citizens in the service of our nation over the past 200+ years.